The book of separation
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Average rating4.3
The author describes how she left both Orthodox Judaism and her marriage and followed her inner compass to forge a new life for herself and her children while seeking her own path to happiness.
Born and raised in a tight-knit Orthodox Jewish family, Mirvis committed herself to observing the rules and rituals: to observe was to be accepted and to be accepted was to be loved. She married a man from within the fold and quickly began a family. Her doubts became noisier than her faith, and it became a suffocating existence. Leaving her husband and her faith, Mirvis set out to discover what she does believe and who she really is.
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Rarely do I encounter a memoir that I earmark to re-read again in the future, yet The Book of Separation is that one. With beautiful prose that long-time fans will recognize from her fictional works, Mirvis unravels the threads of her marriage and her faith. It's a story of losing one's religion in order to be free, but it's also a story of Mirvis leaving her marriage to live more truthfully.
What I loved about this book is that it does not rely on saccharine language or self-deprecation in her self-discovery. Her concerns seem real and tangible, even for those of us in young marriages or happy ones. There are revelations that any of us can recognize in ourselves.
I received a galley of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley to read and review. This has not impacted my thoughts or opinions about this book.
This was a lovely and thoughtful memoir written about the time immediately following the author's divorce, and exodus from the orthodox Judaism that had been the faith she grew up with. As a person who has taken a religious exodus of sorts myself, much of her experience resonated with me. The idea of leaving behind what you have known to discover your own truth is a powerful one, and Mirvis writes about it with grace, all the while maintaining a deep respect for the people and faith she leaves behind. I found this to be a fantastic read - recommended.
